Cup Holder Made From Paracord and an Office Pen Cup

About: I'm a DIY ideas man. I constantly strive to create my own products including tools. I'm actually a master of misusing/reusing things and getting better results. I love new ideas and manifesting them into rea...
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I recently got an injury riding my bike and had to move around on crutches. This didn't work so well when it came to carrying my coffee or drink. To solve my caffeine and hydration woes I leveraged the magic of paracord and a pen holder from my office supply cache at my desk.

In this instructable I show you how to make an adjustable cup holder for your crutches out of paracord. Whatever you want to use to make it better is up to you. I used the pen holder but you could just put the actual cup in the cup holder if it's the right kind. Either way, you'll be able to carry a cup or whatever you can secure in it up to the weight limit of your cord, crutches and/or yourself.

If this is your first time weaving paracord and have never done a cobra weave before then I recommend this instructable:

That instructable will give you all the know-how you need to complete this instructable. It's really easy, don't sweat it. :)

Step 1: Grab Your Ank...err...crutches and Cut Some Cord.

Obviously we're going to need the crutches but let's put it in writing just for the sake of being accurate. Don't need them in this step but keep them handy.

For the cord we will need 4 x 18-inch pieces of cord. You can do more or less but this was just right for the crutches I have. Having extra length on the cup holder just means you'll need to be a bit more careful when walking since it'll dangle more.

Now that you have 4 pieces of cord let's go on to the next step.

Step 2: Take Two and Weave Them on the Other Two

Since they're all the same size it doesn't matter what cord you use for what part. As you can see in my pics I took 2 pieces of cord and pinched them under the leg of my coffee table. Then I applied the cobra weave on the top segment with the 3rd piece of cord and did the same on the lower segment with the 4th piece.

Doing 2 segments of weave over an independent set of cords allows the weave to slide up and down on the center 2 pieces making the center opening adjustable.

Step 3: Fit It to the Crutch

The only part left is running the cord through some of the empty holes for the handle adjustment.If you're really short and used that bottom adjustment hole then you can take the cord and put it between the foam of the handle and the aluminum of the crutch. No special knot required although you could do whichever you want. I put a pen holder in mine for some stability since the cups are disposable and not very strong. I chose that holder because it had a lip on the rim and made it easy to pinch in the cord and not have it fall through.

Thanks for reading and please share if you make one too. Write in the comments if you have any questions and stuff...

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4 Discussions

Oh yeah - I have been on crutches twice recently and you can't put a take-out cup of coffee in your backpack. Plus, this way it is nice and handy. As long as you are not so short as to use the lowest holes! I want to "favorite" this but would that be tempting fate? Great idea.